Google: The Brand Equalizer

Google’s search engine has effectively leveled the playing field, allowing smaller, nimbler competitors to challenge industry giants. This democratization of information has its merits, but it also poses significant challenges for brands that once relied on traditional media’s brand-loyal ecosystem.

In the pre-Google era, brand loyalty was cultivated through controlled channels like TV, radio, and print. These mediums fostered a sense of trust and familiarity, limiting consumer choices to a handful of well-known brands. Travel plans were at the mercy of your local travel agent’s network, and tech solutions were limited to the brands that managed to reach you through conventional advertising.

The Cost of Comparison

Google’s business model thrives on comparison shopping, which inherently undermines brand loyalty. The search giant’s revenue is primarily driven by advertisers targeting competitor brands and generic keywords. This creates a paradoxical situation where the cost-per-click for generic keywords is typically just 10% of branded terms.

Why? Because savvy PPC managers understand that users comparing brands are at the bottom of the sales funnel. These are high-intent searchers – the right person, with the right need, at the right time. They’ve done their research, identified their problem, and are ready to make a purchase decision.

The Brand Dilemma

If building a strong brand were truly the ultimate solution in SEO and PPC, why do established brands continually invest in complex SEO strategies? The answer lies in Google’s brand-agnostic approach. Google doesn’t play favorites; it makes money from disruptors and challengers targeting existing brands.

Consider the stark difference in value between generic keywords like “affordable CRM” and brand-specific terms like “Salesforce alternative.” The latter is where Google’s real profits lie, as it capitalizes on users actively seeking alternatives to established brands.

Brand Building vs. SEO Strategy

While brand building is crucial, it’s not a substitute for a robust SEO strategy. Brand recognition is an outcome, not a strategy in itself. Even industry giants like Salesforce maintain paid landing pages because they recognize that brand alone isn’t enough in the Google-dominated landscape.

Protecting Your Brand While Leveraging Google

To thrive in this environment, companies must adopt a dual approach:

1. Brand Protection:
   • Monitor and manage your online reputation
   • Invest in branded content and thought leadership
   • Cultivate customer loyalty through exceptional experiences
3. Competitive SEO and PPC Strategies:
   • Target competitor brand keywords strategically
   • Optimize for high-intent, comparison-focused search terms
   • Develop content that positions your brand as a viable alternative

The Path Forward

As SEO professionals, we must help our clients navigate this complex landscape. While building a strong brand remains important, it’s equally crucial to develop strategies that leverage Google’s comparison-driven ecosystem.

Remember, Google’s success is built on disruption. By understanding this fundamental truth, we can craft SEO and PPC campaigns that protect our clients’ brands while simultaneously positioning them to capture market share from competitors.

In this new paradigm, success lies in striking a delicate balance – nurturing brand loyalty while also being the disruptive force that captures the attention of comparison shoppers. It’s a challenging task, but one that’s essential for survival and growth in the Google-dominated digital landscape.

The post The SEO Brand Paradox: Google and Branding appeared first on Primary Position SEO NYC.

The Myth of Measurability

First and foremost, it’s crucial to understand that Google’s algorithms, no matter how sophisticated, cannot directly measure abstract concepts like experience or expertise. These are inherently human qualities that require nuanced understanding and context. The idea that a search engine can accurately assess these factors across the vast expanse of the internet is, at best, wishful thinking.

The Reality of Major Players

Take a look at major news sites or tech giants like CNN or Microsoft. Do they consistently demonstrate EEAT in their content? Often, the answer is no. These sites frequently:

• Publish articles written by generalist journalists rather than subject matter experts
• Aggregate content from various sources without adding original insights
• Use algorithms to curate and sometimes even generate content

Yet, these sites consistently rank well in search results. Why? Because factors like domain authority, brand recognition, and sheer content volume often trump the nebulous concept of EEAT.

The AI Revolution

The rise of AI-generated content further exposes the flaws in the EEAT concept. AI can produce well-written, factually accurate content without any real-world experience or expertise. This fundamentally challenges the “Experience” and “Expertise” components of EEAT. If Google can’t reliably distinguish between AI-generated and human-written content, how can it possibly assess the writer’s expertise or experience?

User Diversity and Intent

Every user is unique, with different needs, preferences, and definitions of what constitutes valuable content. What’s authoritative to one person might be seen as biased or unreliable to another. Search engines must cater to this diversity, which often means prioritizing relevance and user engagement over strict adherence to EEAT principles.

The Practical Reality

In practice, what matters most for SEO success often has little to do with EEAT:

1. Technical SEO: Factors like site speed, mobile-friendliness, and proper indexing are crucial.
2. Content Relevance: Matching user intent and providing valuable information is key.
3. User Experience: Engaging, easy-to-navigate content keeps users on your site.
4. Backlink Profile: Quality and quantity of backlinks remain significant ranking factors.
5. Brand Signals: Overall brand recognition and mentions across the web matter.

The EEAT Smokescreen

It’s not hard to see why the concept of EEAT is appealing. It sounds good, it feels ethical, and it gives content creators a sense of control. However, in the complex world of search algorithms, it’s naive to believe that these subjective qualities are being accurately measured and significantly impacting rankings.

Conclusion

While creating high-quality, trustworthy content is always a good practice, it’s naive to believe that EEAT is a make-or-break factor for SEO success. The reality of how search engines work, the limitations of algorithmic assessment, and the diverse nature of user needs all point to a more complex picture.Smart SEO professionals understand that while EEAT might be a nice guideline, it’s not the holy grail of search rankings. Instead, they focus on tangible, measurable factors that demonstrably impact search performance. They create content that resonates with their target audience, optimize for technical excellence, and build their brand’s overall authority.In the end, believing too strongly in EEAT for SEO is like chasing a mirage in the desert. It might look appealing from a distance, but upon closer inspection, it’s clear that the real oasis of SEO success lies elsewhere. Don’t be naive – focus on what really matters and what you can actually influence in the complex ecosystem of search.

The post The E-E-A-T Illusion: Why Believing in It for SEO is Naive appeared first on Primary Position SEO NYC.

Consent Mode v2 Impact

Consent Mode v2, introduced by Google, has significantly altered how data is collected and processed in GA4. This new framework provides users with more granular control over their data, allowing them to separately consent to website analytics and advertising purposes. As a result:

• GA4 now removes data from users who decline tracking, while GSC continues to log all clicks from Google Search results.
• This filtering in GA4 leads to a reduction in reported sessions compared to the clicks recorded in GSC.

Fundamental Differences in Data Collection

Even before Consent Mode v2, GSC and GA4 had inherent differences in how they collect and report data:

• GSC records a click for every “page view” from search results, regardless of user or session.
• GA4 typically records one click per session, focusing on unique user interactions within a given timeframe.

This fundamental difference often results in GSC reporting higher numbers of clicks compared to GA4 sessions.

Privacy Regulations and Tracking Limitations

The implementation of privacy regulations like GDPR has had a significant impact on data collection, particularly for GA4:

• GA4 relies on JavaScript and cookies, which can be blocked by user settings, privacy tools, and ad blockers.
• GSC, on the other hand, tracks clicks directly from search results, unaffected by these client-side limitations.

Non-HTML Page Tracking

Another factor contributing to the discrepancy is the tracking of non-HTML files:

• GSC records clicks on non-HTML files (like PDFs) listed in search results.
• GA4 may not track these interactions, leading to higher click counts in GSC.

Behavioral Modeling in GA4

To compensate for data loss due to consent restrictions, GA4 employs behavioral modeling:

• This feature attempts to fill gaps in data for users who haven’t provided consent.
• However, it may not fully bridge the gap between GSC clicks and GA4 sessions, especially in regions with strict privacy regulations like the EU.

Implications for SEO and Analytics

The growing discrepancy between GSC clicks and GA4 sessions poses challenges for marketers and SEO professionals:

• It becomes more difficult to accurately measure organic search performance and user engagement.
• Marketers need to adapt their strategies to account for these differences when analyzing website traffic and performance.

In conclusion, while the discrepancy between GSC clicks and GA4 sessions is widening due to Consent Mode v2 and other factors, it’s crucial to understand that both tools provide valuable, albeit different, insights. SEO professionals and marketers should use both in tandem, recognizing their strengths and limitations, to gain a comprehensive view of their website’s performance in search and user engagement.

The post Why Google Search Console clicks vs Google Analytics Sessions is getting worse appeared first on Primary Position SEO NYC.

Let’s dive deeper into what a backlink checker is, its importance, and how it can benefit your SEO program and deliver on your strategy.

Backlink checking inside an SEO Strategy

A backlink checker produces a backlink report which provides a number of key metrics for SEO reporting, as well as a broken backlink report (tactical/web maintenance and publishing) as well as a Domain Authority Score.

Understanding Backlinks

Backlinks, also known as inbound or incoming links, are hyperlinks from one website to another. These links act as “votes of confidence” from one site to another, signaling to search engines that the linked content is valuable and trustworthy. This was the game changer patent released by Google’s co-founders, Larry Page and Sergei Brin and its from Larry’s name that we get the “PageRank” algorithm that Google works on (see: Google SEO Starter Guide)

The Role of a Backlink Checker

A backlink checker is an SEO tool that provides a comprehensive view of a website’s backlink profile. It allows users to:

1. Identify Referring Domains: See which websites are linking to yours.
2. Identify Anchor Text which gives Context to Google
3. Analyze Link Quality: Assess the authority and relevance of the linking domains.
4. Monitor Backlink Growth: Track changes in your backlink profile over time
5. Discover Competitor Backlinks: Research and analyze your competitors’ backlink strategies.

Key Features of Backlink Checkers

Most backlink checkers offer a range of features to help you understand and improve your backlink profile:

• Link Metrics: View important data such as Domain Rating (DR), URL Rating (UR), and anchor text distribution
• Link Type Classification: Distinguish between “dofollow” and “nofollow” links
• Broken Link Detection: Identify and fix broken outbound links
• Anchor Text Analysis: Examine the text used to link to your site
• Historical Data: Track changes in your backlink profile over time

Benefits of Using a Backlink Checker

Utilizing a backlink checker can significantly enhance your SEO efforts:

1. Improve Link Building: Identify high-quality link opportunities and replicate successful strategies
2. Monitor Link Health: Quickly spot and address potentially harmful or spammy links
3. Competitive Analysis: Gain insights into your competitors’ backlink strategies
4. Content Strategy: Discover which types of content attract the most backlinks
5. SEO Performance Tracking: Correlate backlink growth with improvements in search rankings

Popular Backlink Checker Tools

Several tools are available for checking backlinks, each with its own strengths:

• Ahrefs: Known for its extensive backlink database and frequent updates
• SEMrush: Offers a comprehensive suite of SEO tools, including backlink analysis
• Moz: Provides reliable backlink data along with its proprietary Domain Authority metric
• Bing Webmaster Tools: A free option that allows you to check backlinks for your own site and competitors

Choosing the Right Backlink Checker

When selecting a backlink checker, consider factors such as:

• Database size and freshness
• Accuracy of data
• User interface and ease of use
• Additional features and integrations
• Pricing and subscription options

The post What is a Backlink Checker? appeared first on Primary Position SEO NYC.

Setting Clear Objectives

The foundation of any successful SEO campaign begins with setting clear, measurable objectives. For instance, our typical goal might be:”To grow our leads by 25% by selecting 50 keywords and ranking 90% of them in the top 3 positions.”This objective is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART), providing a clear direction for our SEO efforts.

The SEO Strategy vs SEO Tactics

Set out what you want to achieve – not what you think you need to do.

For example:

Get 15 leads a month and Generate 1500 visits to get a 1% conversion rate. Become the #1 Widget Sales and Installation company in New York City

SEO Keyword Research and Selection

1. Analyze Competitor Paid Campaigns: Gain insights from competitors’ paid search strategies.
2. Identify Top Intent Keywords: Focus on keywords that align with user intent and business goals.
3. Collaborative Selection: Conduct a group vote to select the most promising keywords.
4. Target Range: Aim for 50-100 high-potential keywords.

SEO Content Creation and Delivery

• Production Rate: Develop 10 pieces of high-quality content per month.
• Timeline: Plan for a 5-10 month delivery schedule to see significant results.

SEO Architecture: Building a Solid Foundation

Content Management System (CMS)

Ensure your CMS is SEO-friendly and allows for easy optimization of meta tags, URLs, and content structure.

SEO Publishing

Implement a streamlined process for publishing SEO-optimized content, including:

• Proper heading structure (H1, H2, H3)
• Internal linking
• Image optimization
• Schema markup

Page Types

Develop various page types to target different stages of the customer journey:

• Landing pages
• Blog posts
• Product pages
• Category pages
• FAQ pages

SEO Authority: Boosting Credibility and Trust

Third-Party Validation

Increase your website’s authority through:

• High-quality backlinks
• Guest posting on reputable sites
• Industry partnerships and collaborations

Holistic Marketing Integration

While not directly impacting SEO, a holistic marketing approach can significantly enhance your brand’s overall online presence:

• Social media marketing
• Email marketing
• Influencer partnerships
• PR initiatives

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Google Analytics Metrics

Focus on these crucial metrics to measure SEO success:

• GSC
  • Organic traffic
• Google Analytics
  • Referral traffic
  • Direct traffic
  • Conversions, Leads and Sales Revenue
  • Mutli-Channel Attribution

Attribution and Cross-Channel Key Events

Implement multi-touch attribution models to understand the full customer journey and the impact of SEO on other marketing channels.

Content Amplification

To maximize the reach of your content, republish on popular social media platforms:

• LinkedIn
• X (formerly Twitter)
• Facebook

Marketing Setup: Essential Tools and Integrations

1. Google Search Console (GSC): Monitor your site’s performance in Google search results.
2. Bing Webmaster Tools: Optimize for Microsoft’s search engine.
3. SEO Tool Suite: Invest in comprehensive SEO software for in-depth analysis and reporting.
4. Keyword Research Tool: Identify and track high-potential keywords.
5. SERP Reports: Monitor your rankings and competitors’ positions.
6. Google Analytics: Set up enhanced reporting:
   • Define key events
   • Enable AI-driven insights
   • Implement multi-funnel attribution
7. Google Ads Integration: Align your paid and organic search strategies for maximum impact.

By following this comprehensive SEO strategy, you’ll be well-positioned to achieve your organic search goals and drive significant business growth. Remember, SEO is an ongoing process that requires constant monitoring, analysis, and adaptation to stay ahead in the ever-evolving digital landscape.

The post SEO Strategy vs an SEO Tactical Plan appeared first on Primary Position SEO NYC.

SEO is a System, not a checklist!

Ask any new to mid-level SEO what an SEO checklist should include – as often is the case on Reddit – and everyone will tell you that you need a sitemap but:

Google’s Stance on Sitemaps

According to Google’s SEO Developer Guide on sitemaps are not always necessary.

Google states:”If your site’s pages are properly linked, Google can usually discover most of your site. Proper linking means that all pages that you deem important can be reached through some form of navigation, be that your site’s menu or links that you placed on pages”

This clearly indicates that for well-structured websites with proper internal linking, a sitemap is not crucial for Google to crawl and index your content.

The Reality of Sitemap Crawling for New Sites

For new domains or sites with low authority, Google’s interaction with your sitemap is minimal:

1. Infrequent crawling: Google may only check your sitemap once a month or even every two months
2. Limited crawling scope: Google will primarily crawl pages or documents that have authority

The Authority Dilemma

A critical point to consider is the authority of your sitemap itself:

• What’s linking to your XML Sitemap?
• Are you building links to your feed.xml or feed.rss files?

If the answer is no, then your sitemap has little to no authority, and consequently, it’s not providing any authority to the pages listed within it

The Misconception of SEO Checklists

It’s a common misconception that having a sitemap, no 404 errors, and meta-descriptions under 250 characters automatically equates to good SEO. This checklist mentality is misleading. As stated in the query, “Google doesn’t care. There’s no ‘score’ or bonus points for doing 15/15 checklist items”

When Sitemaps Can Be Useful

While not essential for most sites, sitemaps can be beneficial in specific scenarios:

1. Large websites with numerous pages
2. Websites with non-spiderable content
3. New websites that need to submit changed pages for indexing
4. Recently relaunched websites

The Importance of Internal Linking

Instead of relying on sitemaps, focus on creating a solid internal linking structure. This not only helps users navigate your site but also allows search engines to discover and understand your content hierarchy naturally.

Conclusion

For new to medium-sized websites with low or no authority, investing time and resources into creating and maintaining a sitemap may not yield significant SEO benefits. Instead, focus on:

1. Creating high-quality, valuable content
2. Developing a strong internal linking structure
3. Building a real online profile with genuine backlinks to increase your site’s authority

Remember, SEO is a holistic system, not a checklist. As your site grows in authority and complexity, you can always add a sitemap later if needed. But for now, your efforts are better spent on creating great content and building your site’s authority through other means.

The post The Myth of the XML Sitemap in Checklist SEO appeared first on Primary Position SEO NYC.

What is a Search Engine Position Report?

In the realm of SEO marketing, a Search Engine Ranking Report, often referred to as a “SERP report,” is a comprehensive analysis of keyword rank positions in search engine results. These reports typically showcase a curated list of keywords, meticulously selected by SEO managers, and their corresponding rankings across various search engines.It’s worth noting that the vast majority of SERP reports are generated automatically using industry-standard SEO tools such as SEMrush, Ahrefs, Moz, or SE Ranking. This automation ensures consistency and allows for real-time tracking of ranking fluctuations.

Terminology: SERP Report vs. Search Engine Position Report

While “Search Engine Ranking Report” is a term frequently used in professional settings, it’s essentially interchangeable with “SERP Report.” The former is a more descriptive version, often shortened to “Search Engine Rankings” or “Search Engine Ranking Report” in common SEO and digital marketing parlance.

Decoding a Search Engine Position Report

At its core, a Search Engine Ranking Report provides insights into where a website ranks for a predetermined set of keywords across various search engines. These keywords are typically derived from extensive keyword research, often referred to as a “Keyword Universe” in SEO circles.

Interpreting Search Engine Position Reports

When analyzing these reports, SEO professionals primarily focus on two key metrics:

1. Average Position (High Accuracy)
2. Visibility (Variable Accuracy)

Search Engine Rank Reports: Average Position

While average position provides a precise snapshot of rankings, it’s crucial to remember that not all keywords are created equal. Some may have significant search volume, while others might be rarely queried. Savvy SEO managers should be wary of reports padded with high-ranking but low-traffic keywords, as these can paint an overly optimistic picture of a site’s performance.

Search Engine Rank Reports: Visibility

Visibility reports attempt to estimate potential traffic and click-through rates (CTR) based on rank positions and search volume. However, their accuracy can vary significantly, especially for niche B2B terms or keywords with limited Google Ads data.

Advanced Features of SERP Reporting Tools

Modern SERP reporting tools offer a plethora of advanced features, including:

• Historical ranking data and trend analysis
• Keyword categorization and tagging
• Keyword distribution analysis, typically segmented into:
  • Top 3 positions
  • Page 1 (Top 10)
  • Top 20
  • Top 50
  • Top 100

These granular insights allow SEO professionals to track progress towards specific ranking goals effectively.

Customizing SERP Reports for Brand Monitoring

By leveraging tags or keyword filters within your SERP reporting software, you can create bespoke branded search reports. This functionality is invaluable for monitoring your brand’s online presence and competitive positioning.

Synergizing Keyword Research and SERP Reports

To maximize the efficacy of SERP reports, it’s crucial to base them on well-researched keywords that:

• Demonstrate high conversion rates
• Align with your PPC strategy
• Fall within the search patterns of your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
• Are targeted by your competitors

Tracking Progress and Performance with SER reports

To gauge the success of your SEO efforts, focus on two key metrics over time:

1. Growth in average position
2. Improvements in average visibility

This dual-sided approach ensures you’re not just climbing the rankings, but doing so for keywords that drive meaningful traffic and conversions.

Integrating SERP Reports into Your SEO KPI Dashboard

For a holistic view of your SEO performance, it’s essential to incorporate SERP report data into your monthly SEO Report Templates. This integration allows for a comprehensive analysis of your search engine optimization efforts and their impact on overall business objectives.

The post Managing your Search Engine Position Report appeared first on Primary Position SEO NYC.

However, this new existential threat to SEO comes hidden under the cover of darkness spread by GDPR and the March Spam and March 2024 Core update. Many US firms haven’t fully deployed Cookie-less consent and many ignore the GDPR’s most up-to-date wording which says users can’t be co-opted into cookie consent but it is rolling out – whether by legal, informed agencies, consultants or overseas entities eyeing the massive fines being issued by the EU watchdogs.

So what’s the big problem for SEO?

The problem is that cookie-less tracking doesn’t just affect traffic source tracking, it affects page-to-page tracking too. This means that even if you assume 90% of your Direct Traffic (really = unknown traffic) is Organic Traffic, you still won’t see any recorded in Google Analytics.

This means that the only sources being recorded are Google Ads – because it circumvents Cookie tracking and Analytics currently does not have a way to track users without using cookies. On the other hand, GSC can and so its data now differs from Analytics

SEO is about to get 0% of the Attribution Funnel Clicks

This means that anyone coming from Google who doesn’t consent will no longer be tracked and their conversions will no longer be recorded. This is a disaster for SEO, which typically owns anything from 75%-90% of B2B leads

Attribution Marketing, the Funnel, and Budget

SEO has always been the champion of B2B lead generation – it delivers the bulk of leads, and the lowest ROI, and represents the most growth opportunity previous SEO campaigns keep delivering, unlike social and paid, which have to keep being funded and managed.

This blindspot is going to represent a massive blow to the unsung champion of lead generation.

SEO is still maligned despite stellar performance

As I keep pointing out – SEO and indeed Google are the unsung champions. There are so many preconceived thought limiting cliches about both but the numbers just support a different narrative.

For example, in my 20 years doing SEO and PPC, I’d be a millionaire if I had just that $1 for every time I’ve heard “well I never click on Ads” – yet, Google Ads generates about $280billion for the company and that’s only an estimated 1 in 20 clicks! 

Google’s ad revenues are bigger than Microsoft’s entire revenue line – Azure, Office, Server, Bing, and Linkedin. And you can add Meta (Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat). And twitter. Google is still bigger. And that’s its Ad Revenue – not the +54% of all sales that originate there, including organic, which is just unknown.

What about GSC data

Not much better – GSC doesn’t rely on Cookies but its more accurate than GA4, as we find out in our updated post.

What can be done about it?

Be on the lookout for 3rd party tools that use cookie-less tracking – we’ll be scouting too so stay posted!

The post SEO Click Funnels will disappear from Google Analytics 4 appeared first on Primary Position SEO NYC.

AI tasks in SEO are limited to

• Content writing
• Publihsing automation
• Internal Linking

There’s a large increase of AI in SEO pseudo-sciences like

• Keyword density/AI writing “optimization”
• Content breadth or coverage
  • Tools like
    • Jasper, Surfer SEO etc

PRedictably, the birth or awakening of AI via OpenAI’s ChatGPT launch ushered in a new ERA of “visionary” pundits to foresee the untimely demise of SEO much like the similar events on Twitter from the 2010s right up until the demise of that platform as X – but this underscores the deep lack of understanding of both Google and SEO and the refusal to acknowledge the preference of its user base. There is a lot of anti-Google sentiment – from jealousy to frustration behind this and it should be dismissed as purely as a hate ideology because it has no foundation or basis in data whatsoever.

AI’s Current Role in SEO

Content Creation vs. SEO Strategy

The misconception that SEO and copywriting are interchangeable has led to premature conclusions about AI’s impact on the field. In reality, SEO encompasses a broader range of strategies and techniques beyond content creation.

AI’s Impact on Copywriting

While AI has significantly disrupted the copywriting industry, its application in SEO-specific tasks like title and meta description creation may be overemphasized. These elements, while important, represent only a fraction of comprehensive SEO strategies.

Practical Applications of AI in SEO

AI Posting and Publishing Automation

I see a lot of independent tools, SEO specialist tools and adopt of AI

AI Agent Task Automation

AI shows promise in automating certain SEO processes, particularly in content workflow management. However, the scalability of these solutions must be balanced against potential content quality issues. But there are some impressive AI integrations in tools like

• Zapier
• IFTT

AI micro-text Automtion

One area of content automation that I am happy to see is the over-rated and being area of updating Meta-Descriptions. Using AI for writing Page Titles (a critical part of SEO) is silly and dangerous – but as long as too many people focus on disastrous metrics like the length of page titles and meta-descriptions, this element of pseudo-science will always be with us.

• WordPress Plugins
  • Yoast
  • RankMath
• Hubspot

AI in Keyword Research

AI tools offer potential in keyword deduplication and grouping, though their precision often requires manual verification. SEMrush’s AI-driven Personalized Keyword Difficulty score represents a notable advancement in this area.

Debunking the “Death of SEO”

The advent of ChatGPT sparked numerous predictions about the demise of SEO, reminiscent of similar claims made during Twitter’s early years. These predictions often stem from a lack of understanding of SEO’s complexities and AI’s current limitations.

AI’s Limitations in Search Improvement

Contrary to popular belief, AI faces significant challenges in improving search functionality due to its inability to make subjective decisions effectively. This limitation underscores the continued importance of human expertise in SEO strategy.

Content Creation

The narrow capabilities of current Language Models (LLMs) limit their effectiveness in comprehensive content creation for SEO purposes.

AI Psuedo Seience

Some AI tools claim that their content is optimized and will perform better – these claims are nonsense. Because so much content is just opinion or observation, its beyond “research” or grading or developing an opinion. The many supporters of AI and Content optimization in general try to point to subjective biases like:

1. Writing quality
   1. Grammar, spelling and stylisation – all things that have no basis in SEO
2. Research
   1. Again – Google cannot do research, LLMs cannot do research
   2. Author bios can be faked
3. EEAT
   1. This has been widely debunked but there are still people pushing these myths

I’v covered content quality and subjectivity and EEAT and will cover how LLMs cannot do research – like my post on how chiropractic are a debunked quackery yet LLMs have been fooled.

Google’s Stance on AI-Generated Content

Google does not explicitly penalize AI-written content. The search engine’s focus remains on content quality and relevance, regardless of its origin. Google’s own AI SEO tool, “Speedybrand,” further illustrates the company’s neutral stance on AI-generated content.

Google’s approach to AI content is pretty simple: “its content, it might work, it might not,”

Conclusion

While AI offers exciting possibilities for SEO, its current applications are limited and require careful implementation. The most effective SEO strategies continue to rely on a combination of AI-assisted tools and human expertise to navigate the complex landscape of search engine algorithms and user behavior.

The post Current state of AI SEO Automation appeared first on Primary Position SEO NYC.

What is Irish Startup Week?

ISW is a carefully curated series of public and private events organized by Digital Irish. The event brings together:

• Irish startups with ambitions to scale in the U.S.
• Irish ex-pats and Irish-American Tech leaders
• VCs and angel investors
• Ecosystem leaders

Who Should Attend?

The event is tailored for Irish entrepreneurs and startup founders who are:

• In the tech or tech-enabled sector
• Seed or Series A venture-backed
• Ready to enter or expand into the U.S. market
• Have started selling in the U.S.
• Have an executive team member in or moving to the U.S.

Event Highlights

Workshops and Panels: Daily sessions run from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, covering various aspects of scaling in the U.S. market.

Networking Opportunities: Evening networking events from 6:00 PM provide ample opportunities to connect with industry professionals.

Expert Speakers: While the 2024 lineup is yet to be announced, previous years have featured successful entrepreneurs and industry leaders such as Oisin Hanrahan (co-founder of Handy.com) and Alice Delahunt (former Chief Digital Officer at Ralph Lauren).

Meeting Opportunities: The 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM window is reserved for startups to organize meetings, with office space provided when available.

How to Participate

ISW 2024 has space for 25 startups, selected through an application process. While there is no registration fee, attendees are expected to cover their own travel and accommodation costs.

Why Attend Irish Startup Week?

1. Ecosystem Connectivity: ISW offers a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between the Irish and NYC startup ecosystems.
2. Expert Insights: Gain valuable knowledge from successful entrepreneurs and industry leaders.
3. Networking: Connect with potential investors, partners, and fellow entrepreneurs.
4. U.S. Market Entry: Learn strategies for successfully entering and expanding in the U.S. market.

Irish Startup Week 2024 presents an invaluable opportunity for Irish startups to take their first steps into the U.S. market or expand their existing presence. By fostering connections between the Irish and NYC startup ecosystems, ISW is paving the way for the next generation of Irish entrepreneurial success stories on the global stage.

The post Its time for Irish Startup Week NY 2024 appeared first on Primary Position SEO NYC.